How to Eat a Popsicle

** Eli **

Being the gentleman he was, Eli bought them each a handmade popsicle from the stand, and they stepped away from the crowd for a break under a tree. The bars were stunningly pretty, swirled through with cream and slices of real strawberries and kiwis.

He soon learned, however, that he had made a terrible mistake.

"Wow, this is almost too pretty to eat." Harper regarded the popsicle with awe, turning it this way and that as if to admire it from all angles. "Do you think it'll taste as good as it looks?"

She flicked her tongue out and carefully licked the very tip of it.

The image was a bit strange. The popsicle was layered with a snow cap — a thick chunk of cream concentrated near the top — and when she licked it like that, the tip melted and dragged a streak of milky whiteness along her tongue before disappearing into her mouth.

"Mmm, this is good." She let out a satisfied sigh and did it again.